Emergency-valve and circuit-breaker trip.



H. CORDBLL L J'. G. TAWSE.

EMERGENCY VALVE AND clmmfr BHL'AKER Tm.

APPLLCA'NON FILED MRA il, 1511A 1,120,931 Patented DSC. 8. 1914,

' UNrrED STATES PATENT oFFicE,

HENRY CORDELL AND JOHN G. 'rAws-E, 0F CHIcAGo, rLLINoIs.

EMEnGsNcY-veLvs AND CIRCUIT-semina. TPYIP.

To all wh'om ifmgy cojfcern:

Be it known that we, HENR'YICRDELL and JOHN G. TAwsr., citizens of thelUnited States, residing at Chicago, in the countyuof 'Co'ok andvStatekof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful AImprovementsin` Emergency Valves and Circuit Breaker Trips, 'of which thefollowing'is aspecitr cation.

AVoir.

ThisA invention relates .to automatic and straight air brkeSystems,'such as are applied to motor and trailer cars'of the electricrailway type, either singly or .in multiple trains, vand the `principalobject of vthe invention is to provide a system of the characterdescribed "to cause the` brakesVv of a straight and lautomatic'airpbrake system to be applied, and at the Sametime-to open the circuitswhich: supply current to the motors` A' further'object isfto 'provideincreased vflexibility of control forelectric' motor cars.

' A further Aobject Ais 5to provide A.means to apply the brakes andi'tocutoff the supply of current to themotor. in an emergency atsubstantially 'thesame time. l A` further object is to provide meanswithout Athe control of the'motorman 'to-'arr ply the brakes 'and to,prevent the motorman from continuing to direct the current to the motor.

lA still further object-,isr to provide means to automatically operatethe brakes by direct air pressure vfrom the air pressure reser- For 'theattainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new and usefulobjects as will appear, the invention consists in the features ofnovelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of the severalparts generally shown in the accom panying vdrawings and 'described inthe specification, but moreparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure l shows a. diagrammatic arrangement'of our invention as employed in cmi'nccti'on with a straight air' brakesysteln as applied to an electriccar. Fig. 2 is al detail view in crosssection of the emergency valve in the above exemplitication. Fig. 3 lisa cross sectional view on the line 3 3 o-f'Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detailcross lsectional view vof a pneumatic contact maker employed in theabove cXemplification. V'Fig. 5 is a modification ot' a pneumatic devicesimilar to that shown by F ig. 4.

In ordinary brake systems, such as are specification gf Leiters Patentand over the air brake system, YThe air brakes and the motors .arecontrolled by separate controllingsystems, and tovapply the brakes andstop .the motors in .an emergency, it is necessary .to operate 'bothcontroltijig systems. IThere sometimes -arises'an occasion where it isnecessary ffor some oneother than..the motorma'n to stop thefcarsuddenly.l Heretofore, this has been accomplished by the conductorsigna-.lin the mo-V Batented Dee. s, 1914. Application med Marcil a,19h11.' serial No. eiaiasf torman of his desire vto stop th'ere y-resulting in a loss of time, which iii-gan emergency might be fatal.This Ain i'fen'tiof contemplates the provision of means whereby.the-conduc toror any person'other than the motorman may operate adevice which vShalle'eCt'the application` of the brakes and' also .cutott the current tothe mot-orwithout the intervention of or signaling to'the.n 1otorriian.ij-

Referring now more particularly ftQfFig. 1 of the accompanyingdraw11igs,fthis system is shown as applied tofa straight-air ke systemof a well known :type.'aiid in w l'ich there is diagr'ammatically shownjanair compressor l0 with its governor Iliand fuse l2, which isA adapted-to supplyair :tosthe' air reservoir 13. Thislatter has.. connec tionwith the reservoir line .14, which is connecte'dl to the -motormansvalve 15'.' Th-isvalve l5 is adapted to provide communication from thereservoir line 14 to a -train line 1G. The train line 'i6 .hascommunication by means of the pipes 17 through-tbeemergency valve 18 andpipes l19 to the brake cylinder 20. The motormans valvel may be of anySuitable construction, a three way valve being shown in the`present'exemplilim.'

tication. and an exhaust pipe-21, being pro'v vided to release the airlpreure applied to the brake cylinder 20, Circuit breakers 22.

are shown with their coils'connected at one end to the ground, and latthe other end toa common conductor 23, which, incase the system .isapplied to more than one car, r

throughout the entire train` This condu A 23 connected .by conductor 24to the circuit brcaker trip 25, which isalso connectedA by means of theconductor V26V to the positivc source of current supply, The circuitbreakers are operative to control circuits from the positive source ofsupply to and through the motors, as for example, motor 27 and thence tothe ground. v To operate the emergency device 18, there is shown a`manually ,operated device 28, and an automatically operated device 29,both lof which will be hereinafter more particularly de' I scribed.

The emergency valve 18 is shown in de-V tail sectional elevation by Fig.2. This comprises a cylindrical member 30 formed with a shoulder 31 anda piston 28 is adapted to be moved in the said cylinder and to be heldnormally against the shoulder 31 by a spring 32.l In the smallercylindrical portion of the member 30, a valve member '33 suitablyconnected to a projection 34 from the piston 28 is movable with the saidpiston upon a valve lseat member 35. This valve member 33 issuitablypressed upon the valve -seat member 35 by a spring 36 whichengages the opposite side ofl the reduced portion of the cylinder. Atthe end of the reduced portion ofthe cylinderv opposite the shoulder 31there is a plate 37 which is provided with a number ofcperforations andpipes threaded therein.- The reduced portion of the cylindrical memberis connected directly to the main air reservoir 13 by means of the pipeor tube 38, and as the end of the projection 34 is provided only withguides 39 in the reduced portion of the cylinder, the full pressure ofthe air reservoir may be' exerted upon the piston 28. Through the piston28, however, there is a small opening 40,v which. is\adapted'to equalizethe pressure upon oppositeI sides of the piston, S0 that in normalposition the piston is held against the shoulder bythe spring 32 therebeing an equality of air pressure' upon both sides 'of the said piston.Communicating with the enlarged end of the cylinder there is an airpassage 41 which is connected by means of the tube 42 to an atmosphericoutlet. It is evident that when this outlet is opened to the atmosphere,the pressure upon the enlarged end of the cylinder will be reduced tothat of thefatmos-v phere, and the piston will be caused to move in thecylinder by reason of the pressure of the main air reservoir 13, theopening 40 not being large enough to permit the free passage of the airfrom one side to the other. I'n the small cylindrical opening there ispositioned a shell 43, and the valve seat mem- Yber 35 is preferablyformed on or in the said passageway through this emergenc are providedrespectivel with the conducting tubes 19 and 17. Clbmmunicating alsowith the tube 19 is a passage or opening 50 which "is normally coveredby the valve member 33. In this 'valve member 33 is a connecting passage51 whichis adapted in the normal position of the .valve member to affordcommunication between the openings 48 and 49, thus providing anunobstructed device for the normal operation of the bra e cylinder, forit is seen that the tubes 17 and 19 are connected respectively to thetrain line 16 and to the brake cylinder 20. An elongated `slot oropening 52 is also provided in the lower surface of the valve member 33with an opening 53 communicating with the interior of the cylinder, andit is evident that when the'valve member 33 is moved in thev cylinder bythe pressure of the air, the opening 47 has direct communication withthe opening 53 and the slotted portion 52, thereby affording a directpassage of. air from the air reservoir to the pneumatic contactingdevice 25. It is also seen tha" as soon asthe valve member 33 is moved,t1 e passageway 51 which connects the openings 48 and 49 is also moved,closing. the connection between these two openings and exposing theopening 50 to the direct pressure-of the air in the cylinder. Thus itwill be seen that communication between the brake cylinder and the trainline is cut oli' and a pa'axevgay is opened directly from theaE//Fe'servoir through the,emergency device-to the brake cylinder.Substantially at the same time that the brake cylinder is operated, thepneumatic device 25 receives the direct 'air pressure from theairreservoir, and a loose fitting piston 54 is pressed upwardly in'thecylinder 55 of this pneumatic device. Suitably located on the rodprojecting upwardly from the piston 54 is an engaging dog or paw] 56,which is pressed by the spring 57 tof'talrethe position shown in Fig. 4.An insulated contact member 58 is mounted ad` jacent the said pneumaticdevice and a pivoted member 59 whichv carries an insulated contactmember 60 is suitably rivoted and is pressed out of engagement with thecontact 58 by means of the spring 61. The pivoted member 59 is providedwith a projection 62 which the dog 56 is adapted to engage in its upwardmovement. As soon as the pivoted member 59 is thus engaged, the contacts58, 60, are joined to complete the electric circuit from the 'conductors26 to 24, (see Fig. l), thereby energizing the circuit breaker coils andcausing the circuit breakers to be operated. In returning t0 normalposition, thevdog 56 is allowed by-V its resilient connection Vto passthe projection 62 of the pivoted member 59, the latter being caused totake its normal position by means of the spring 61.

It is evident that whenever the pressure onon'e side of the piston inthe emergency device is reduced to such an extent as to enable the airpressure to overcome the pressure of the spring 32, the motormanscontrol of the air brake cylinder will be cut off, the brake cylinderwill be subjected to the direct pressure .of the air reservoir, and thecircuit breakers will be energized. While it is contemplated thatvarious means may be employed to efl'ect the reduction in pressure uponthis side of the cylinder referred to, suitable and efficient means bothfor manually and automatically effecting this reduction will now bedescribed.

A bell cord 63 is commonly provided in the cars to which this system isapplied with connection to a lever 64 which is adapted to maintain amember 65 in position against the end of the atmospheric tube 42 in sucha manner as to prevent the escape of ail therefrom. When this bell cord'63 is pulled, the member 65 is released and the pressure on one side ofthe piston 28 is allowed to escape to the atmosphere. As a means forautomatically opening a connection to the atmosphere, a tube 66 isprovided in connection with the atmospheric tube 42, having its endprovided with the opening device 29 in f proximity to the side or bottomof the car in position to be engaged by an obstruction or stop 67seclxred to the ground or a standard 68. This device 29 may be similarto the device` 28 above described, and is so disposed that when the stop67 engages a pro- )ecting arm 29, the tube 66 will be opened to theatmosphere. These devices 28 and 29 are preferably so constructed thatas soon as the are released, they will be returned immedliately to thenormal or closing position, or may be closed manually.

In restoring this system to its normal position, it is necessary only toclose the connection, which causes the enlarged end of the cylinder tocommunicate with the atmosphere. This will cause the air pressure uponthis side of the piston to be restored or equalized with that on theother side of the piston by means of the opening through the piston, thepressure of the spring 32 being suiicient to restore the equalizedpiston to its normal position. As soon as the valve member 33 is pressedpast the opening 47, the air tube 46 will be cut oil' fromcconnectionwith the air reservoir and the piston 54 of the pneumatic device 25 willbe allowed to fall by its own Weight or by reason of a spring 70, and toretain its original or normal position. This device may also be providedwith openings 71 which `will. cause the pressure applied to this piston.74 to be reduced. In the restored position of the valve member 33, thepassage 51 again affords communication between the passages 48 and 49,and places the control of the brakes again within the command of themotorman.

A modification of the contactingr device is shown in Fig. 5, in which aspring pressed piston 54" carries the contact member 72, which isadapted to make electrical connection between the contact members 73 and74 in a well known manner. This device is also preferably provided witha series of openings 75, which will allow the piston to return to itsnormal position as soon as the passageway or communicating tube 46 isclosed at the other end.

The pneumatic device 25 may be connected to the atmospheric outlet tube.42 and a trip cock such as device 28 mav be positioned between the'emergency valve 18 and the device so that the exhaust from theemergency valve 18 will be directed against the piston 54 and thecontact members 58 and 60 will be joined at the same time the piston 28in the emergency device 18 is moved, thereby causingr the supply circuitto the motors to be cut off at substantially the same time the brakesare applied.

It is evident that with this improved system, the control of a car or atrain in an emergency is placed without the control of the motorman, andan advantage of this system consists in the fact that in such emergencythe supply of current to the motor is cut off and the brakes are appliedto stop the car or train in a minimum distance. With this system it isnot possible fer the motorman to supply the motor with current after thebrakes are ap'pliedby some one else, for when he is able to stillenergize the motors when the brakes are applied, it is evident that themotors or motor fuse may be easily burned out, due to the overload onthe motor.

lt is evident that this system may be applied to a single car or a trainof cars, and that in the latter application the operation of anemergency device in any car will eiect the application of the brakes andthe cutofl' of the motors for the whole train.

Although we have thus specifically described the preferred embodiment ofour invention. it is evident that those skilled in the arts to whichthis appertains maymake various changes in the construction, combinationand arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spiritand scope of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. The combination with a straight air brake system for electric motorcars, of means to control the air brakes and the motors from a givenplace in the car, emergency air pressure devices, a circuit breaker tocontrol the circuit of the motor, one of the said devices beingeffective when operated to energize the circuit breaker, and another ofsaid pressure devices being effective when operated to set the brake andto operate the other said device, and means to operate the last nameddevice.

2. In an air brake system for electric motor cars, the combination \vithmeans to control the brakes and the motor from a given place in the car,of circuit breakers to control the circuits of the motors, emergency airpressure devices, one operative to close a crcuit to energize thecircuit-breaker and thereby to open the motor supply circuit, andanother device operated by manual means Without the control of the saidcontrolling means effective to apply the brakes automatically and at thesame time automatically to actuate the other said device.

3. The combination with a straight air brake system for electric carshaving means normally to control the motor and brakes from a givenstation in the ear, of emergency means comprising a circuit breaker forthe motor circuit, a pneumatically operated circuit closing device forthe circuit breaker coils, and an emergency air pressure device having adirect connection with the air pressure reservoir, a passage through thedevice to permit the free passage of air to and from the brake cylinderfrom the operators valve, means to actuate the emergency device, andmeans to open air passages to the circuit closing device and to thebrake cylinder when the said emergency device is actuated.

4. The combination with a straight air brake system for electric carshaving means normally to control the motor and brakes from a givenstation in the car, of a magnetic circuit breaker for the motor circuit,a pneumatically operated circuit closing device for the circuit breakerwinding comprising a piston, a spring pressed contact member, means inconnection with the piston to engage the said contact member whenpressure is applied to the piston thereby to close an electricalconnection to the circuit breaker coils, and an emergency air pressuredevice operative to apply the brakes and to admit pressure to the saidcircuit closing device, the latter being operative through the circuitbreaker to open all power connections to the motors.

5. In an emergency straight air brake system for electric cars, thecombination with means normally to control the operation of the motorsand the brakes from a given station in the car, of electro-res onsivemeans to control the power circuit o the motors, a pneumatic deviceoperable to close an energizing circuit to the said electro-responsivemeans, and an emergency device having a passage through it to permit thenormal operation of the brakes, means for an air pipe connection Withthe said pneumatic device, a movable piston, a valve member connectedtherewith, means to cause the piston to move and by said movement tocause the valve member to close the said passage and to open `the brakecylinder to the direct pressure of the air reservoir, and to subject thesaid pneumatic device to the same pressure whereby the energizingcircuit is closed to the circuit breaker causing the power circuit ofthe motors to be opened, the emergency device being restored to normalcondition by replacing the last named means and the pneumatic devicebeing provided with a piston which permits the slow passage of air by itin the cylinder and a spring-pressed dog which engages in one directionof motion.

(3. In an automatic air brake system for electric cars and trains,l anautomatic air pressure device having a piston and a contacting device,circuit breakers to control the supply of current to the motors andhaving a common conductor throughout the train, and means to reduce thetrain line air pressure and to effect thereby the movement of saidpiston to operate the air pressure device, the contacting device beingthereupon operative to effect the closing of a. circuit connection tothe common conductor Whereby all of the circuit breakers are energized.

7. The combination in an automatic air brake system for electric carsand trains, of a motormans controlling valve, emergency valves, circuitbreakers to cntrol the circuit connections to the motors, said valveshaving connection with the train line and the air reservoir line, of anexhaust air passage for the conductors valve, an air pressure circuitclosing device having a piston movable in an apertured cylinder andoperative to close the circuit closing device, the circuit closingdevice being operative to complete a circuit through the circuit breakercoils, the said device being connected to the eX- haust air passage, andmeans Without the control of the motorman to direct the eX- haust airagainst the said piston when the conductors valve is operated, thecircuit breaker being energized and the brakes applied through theconductors valve at or about the same time.

In testimony whereof We have'signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 4th day of March A.D. 1911.

HENRY CORDELL. JOHN G. TAVVSE.

Witnesses:

NINA' J. HALSNE, K. W. WONNELL.

